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Crackdown on Non-Students Proposed For “Spring Weekend”

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A crackdown on non-students is being suggested as one way to cut violence at University of Connecticut during the period each year known as “Spring Weekend.”

A task force set up after the death of a student last year is out with its recommendations on ways to de-emphasize the annual event preceeding exams and reduce violence and drinking. It includes efforts to limit access to campus by non-students during those three days and asking students themselves for what it calls a voluntary moratorium on Spring Weekend.

The report, eight months in the making, points out that that 80 to 90% of those arrested each year have not been UConn students, and 80 to 90% of those with medical problems — including those with dangerous levels of intoxication and those hurt in accidents and fights have been non-students.

The task force members say there were at least 6,000 guests registered in dorms during Spring Weekend last year, and suggests prohibiting guests in dorms and dining halls on those nights, to decrease the number of non-students on campus. The proposals also would crack down on access to the campus or nearby off-campus complexes.

The report was requested by former President Michael Hogan after the death of UConn Junior Jafar Karzoun in an assault by a non-student. It was delivered to interim President Philip Austin, who endorsed the recommendations.